Paul Komada - Formalist’s Agony

June 5 - 28, 2014

opening reception
First Thursday, June 5, 6-8pm

Prole Drift is pleased to present Formalist's Agony, a solo exhibition by Paul Komada featuring new work in knitting and paintings. The exhibition includes a temporary studio space installation in the gallery. In this space Komada explores the connection between what he observes in everyday life and the work he makes in the studio.

Komada photographs his surroundings on a daily basis, capturing instances that reflect his fascination with abstraction, and which open to a larger range of imagery. He shares the images and experiences via social media (Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr). This habit has been like an open sketchbook to the outside world, giving him new perspectives on possible sources for his abstract works.

During the exhibition, he will juxtapose and/or collide the images that he collects from outside the studio with works he makes in the studio. He proposes that the activity will enable him to observe his own filtering tendencies, how he extracts shapes and pattern from the environment. He will also be exploring where he stands between the realms of art and craft.

Paul Komada was born in Seattle and raised in Yokohama, Japan. In 2002, he completed his MFA at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Between 2003-06, he worked at a Buddhist temple as a monk in Tokyo. Today, he lives and works in Seattle. Komada has exhibited in the Pacific Northwest and nationally, as well as internationally in Seoul, Toronto, and The Hague.